The Talk
by Cantrix
Summary: Lucius has to have a Talk with Draco regarding the 's' word after he turns fourteen. However, he needs a bit of help from someone...


DISCLAIMER: Not mine. I just borrowed for a play during class when I _should_ have been working...

While I did have an idea in mind for a longer story, I lack the attention span to stick with it long enough to actually _write_ said story instead of merely planning it, thus unless you happen to see otherwise at a later date, consider this a complete short story instead.

My spacing keeps getting eaten... sighs

**  
---- The Talk ----**

Every year since Draco turned eleven, his father sat him down the day before school started and gave him a 'Talk'. The first year, it was just another lecture on "Upholding The Malfoy Name", and "Doing Slytherin Proud". It never occurred to the young Draco to question how his father knew he would be in Slytherin, or what would happen if the unthinkable happened and he was put in a different house - Malfoys were _always_ in Slytherin, and that was that.

The second year, the lecture was on "The Shame Of Being Beaten By A Filthy Mudblood" and thus covered "Why You Really Ought To Be Getting Better Grades Than A Girl Who'd Never Even _Heard_ Of The Wizarding World Until Shortly Before Her First Year". This lecture highly embarrassed Draco, because he made the mistake of calling Granger a "very intelligent witch". Evidently, complimenting your rivals was Not Done either - at least, not in front of one's father when said father happened to be Lucius Malfoy. As a side note, Lucius had added that if he couldn't beat the girl, the least he could do was get on the Slytherin quidditch team, and beat the Boy-Who-Lived at the sport he was supposedly so brilliant at, followed by the bribe of new brooms for the team if Draco succeeded in becoming seeker.

The third year was the one on "Beat Potter At _Something_, Or Else". Fairly simple really, only he had the vague idea that he'd probably failed at that too - unless getting the half-giant in trouble counted. Admittedly, at least Potter hadn't yet managed to win the Quidditch cup, and the only reason Gryffindor kept winning the House cup was because Dumbledore was so blatantly biased - but Lucius had not been amused at having this pointed out to him.

The fourth year was the most amusing lecture yet, because it involved sex. His mother had covered the discussion regarding the actual accomplishment of the act, but obviously there was something else that she hadn't included. The result, incidentally, was the first time he'd ever seen his father actually _blush_ - because "well-bred wizards and witches Do Not Discuss Sex" was evidently a rule the young Lucius had taken to heart and still followed despite being twenty-five years or so older (Draco wasn't entirely sure how old his father was, because the vanity of said father meant that the man was Not A Day Over Thirty, despite having had multiple thirtieth birthdays).

**  
---- Where Lucius Talks ----**

Lucius coughed, looking oddly uncomfortable. "Ah, Draco," he said, obviously stalling, which was even more unusual. There was a long silence, where Lucius just looked even more uncomfortable, and Draco just stared at him curiously. Was he _blushing_?!? Surely not! That faint pink color that gently tinted his father's cheeks must just be a trick of the lighting! The minutes ticked by, and Draco got the distinct impression that if he actually wanted to hear this 'Talk' (which he did, his father's behavior having awoken a fierce sense of curiosity), he'd have to prompt the man.

"Sir?"

"Oh... er... right. Well... you turned fourteen two months ago..."

A brief pause, which Draco felt obliged to fill. "Yes sir."

"And... um... you know what a veela is?"

"Yes sir," he replied, wondering just were this was heading.

"And you know that you have veela and part-veela ancestors?"

"Yes sir." He thought his father knew all this already, but maybe he was wrong...

"Yes, well..." Another rather embarrassed cough. "As part of having a veela heritage you may... um..."

Another long pause before Draco felt he had to prompt his father again.

"Sir?"

"You know that veela are always female?"

"Yes sir."

"And that they have to... er... _mate_ with males of other species in order to have off-spring?"

"Yes sir." He still wasn't sure where exactly this was going.

"Well, when a veela and a human male... a-hem..." The blush that _surely_ couldn't be there - because "Malfoys Do Not Do Pink", which naturally also includes things like blushing - deepened. "...you know..." It was _so_ tempting so say that no, he didn't know, but somehow he found the will to resist. "...together, the resulting off-spring is almost always male. Generally, this child, when he grows up, will... find a mate among the veela, resulting in veela children again. Sometimes, as with Our Family..."

How and why his father usually managed to capitalize that, he had yet to fathom, but that was beside the point, and this whole lecture was rather intriguing, as he _still_ couldn't figure out why this was important.

"...the veela's son chooses a human mate instead. Where the children are less than half veela, they're almost always male, and when they are more than half veela, they're always female. Females are always veela or part-veela, with all the powers and what-not that comes with that, thus, as long as the actual percentage of veela heritage they have is over half, they're always considered full veela. Males are... different."

Another one of those fascinating pauses.

"Yes sir," Draco said, once more filling in the silence and attempting to prompt his father.

"Er..." Lucius Malfoy took a deep breath. "Um..." Another deep breath. "Well... excuse me for a minute."

And the 'Talk' temporarily ended, and Lucius left the room, Draco staring after him in puzzlement.

**  
----Lucius Needs Help----**

Several minutes later, the man returned... with reinforcements in the form of one rather confused godfather by the name of Severus Snape.

"Your godfather will explain male part-veelas to you," Lucius informed Draco, and - judging by the eyebrow the other man immediately raised - Sev as well.

"You know this better than I do," the potions master grumbled.

"Fine! We don't _have_ to tell him anyway, since it's not likely to be a problem for him," Lucius snapped, defensively folding his arms.

"_Precaution_, Luce," the greasy-haired man replied (obviously Lucius had dragged him away from one of his beloved potions, because usually when the man came to visit he took better care with his appearance), clearly stressing the word in a way that said he agreed that it probably was unnecessary, but that was no excuse for not being prepared just in case. "Otherwise, if you _don't_ tell him, it probably _will_ happen to him, and then you'll _really_ have a problem on your hands."

Okay, this was getting disturbing! Just what _exactly_ might happen to him, being a male-with- veela-heritage?

"So tell him!" Lucuis demanded haughtily. "Malfoys Do Not Discuss Crudities Such As..." His face flushed _bright_ pink, but he managed to force the world out... in an almost-whisper. "Sex!"

He could've _sworn_ he heard his godfather muttering something along the lines of _"with an attitude like that, it's a minor miracle you actually managed to have **any** kids_!"

Gazing expectantly at the potions master, he waited for the explanation his father seemed determined to avoid giving. The professor sighed and settled into lecture-mode.

"Essentially, a part-veela's instincts are different to those of normal humans, prompting the classification between a human with veela blood and a part-veela. Full-veela tend to be very dominant and jealous, so in response part-veelas are usually submissive and very loyal, essentially mating for life. However, in strongly human lines, where a part-veela occurs, the human blood can distort the part-veela heritage somewhat. The exact abilities of the part-veela vary from case to case, but in the Malfoy line, where part-veela's occur they tend to be dominant and rather protective of their partners. They still mate for life, but tend to take human partners and may take some time to actually settle down, often 'experimenting', as it were, before bonding with their mates. Should you prove to be a part-veela, you'll find that your mate's welfare starts to come first, usually above even your own, although I have heard of cases where concern over their mate's mental welfare caused a part-veela to allow or even cause physical harm to their mate, or the part-veela has been forced to place their own physical welfare first for fear of causing mental instability in their partner. Such relationships are rarely healthy and generally seem to end in tragedy."

The dark-haired man frowned, pausing in his lecture - and his unconscious pacing - as though checking for any details he may have missed.

"Ah, yes... veela's use a combination of illusion and allurement charms to trap or woo potential mates. In the Malfoy part-veelas, this also manifests as the ability to see through most illusions, and a resistance to artificial love or lust inducers of any sort. Unfortunately, when their abilities first begin to manifest around the time they hit puberty, the naturally changing hormones of the teenage male react with the veela gifts so that the part-veela often exudes some sort of magical pheromone that attracts anyone - male or female - who has already reached maturity. Fortunately, this effect can be tempered by either sex with a casual partner, or by bonding with your mate. Due to the full-veelas being all female, an attraction to the male sex seems to be built in, so even the human Malfoys tend to find themselves bisexual, if not outright homosexual, so you shouldn't be overly surprised if you find yourself attracted to your own sex when you return to Hogwarts."

At this point, Lucius interrupted, smirking for some reason. "Should you find you need someone... discreet for your first... experience, Severus will help."

"I _what_?" Severus squawked, sounding highly undignified in his shock. "Are you implying...? He's my _godson_ and my _student_!"

Lucius frowned, but there was slightly malicious amusement to it, more than anything else. "And as part of that, you have a responsibility to teach him to..." He couldn't control his blushing again, and quickly changed the subject slight. "Besides, he's my _son_, so I can't do it, and there's really no-one else who could - or would - be trusted to do it without... damage. As part of being his godfather, by the old traditions, that's what you agreed to."

Severus frowned hard at the older blond for several long moments, before reluctantly nodding. "Should that become necessary, then, yes, but it would be better were he able to find someone... closer to his own age for the experience."

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "It might seem safe _now_, but _He_ doesn't approve of such things, and discretion would be vital."

Draco was getting a little lost by now, but Sev seemed to know what his father was talking about, because he nodded again, a tad grimly. The young teenager had the vague idea his father had just said that he should... er... _sleep_ with his godfather - he wasn't exactly clear on _how_ males were supposed to do _that_ together, given that they had rather different bits down there than females did so he didn't think there was anywhere for their cough _thing_ to go, but presumably he could ask the professor about that later - because evidently _someone_ - presumably someone important, powerful, or both - didn't approve of males sleeping together and so no-one had better find out if he _did_ sleep with a male. He wasn't quite sure what would happen if it turned out that he _was_ a part-veela and his mate was male, but both men seemed to think the chances of that were unlikely, so he resolved not to worry about it. Severus turned back towards the boy.

"At any rate, if you _are_ a part-veela, you'll be noticing the first manifestations of your heritage sometime in the next couple of years or so, until you reach sexual maturity. It's been over twenty years since Lucius asked me to help him look up the details, so I may have missed a few, but should it become necessary, there are several books in the Malfoy library which will help, and more available at Hogwarts. In the mean time, I have a potion to be getting back to, but your father _is_ available if you have questions. Good day, Lucius, Draco."

Funnily enough, Lucius disappeared as well _very_ soon after the potions professor left, although without as valid an excuse as the other man - "I'm just going to... um... I have a... lunch appointment, and really _must_ be going now" just wasn't up to his father's usual standards in lying/evading the truth!

The fact that he found making his father blush by asking questions about the 's' word to be very entertaining couldn't _possibly_ have anything to do with that, now could it?


End file.
